Shadowmark
by SerenitysWillow
Summary: Mercer's reign has ended. The Thieve's Guild, a year later and now under the rule of the Dragonborn, suffer for the consequences the former Guildmaster's actions cause as an old shining light comes back into their lives. The Thieve's Guild's story may not be over, but it's certainly begun as a new terror to the tightly-knitted faction brings chaos and destruction to Skyrim.
1. Sorrow

**TMNTLover2 has let me adopt her Elder Scrolls character Kitra, who is Karliah's sister. Hopefully this is different and better. **

**Chapter 1: The Dragonborn discovers that Karliah had a sibling, Kitra, and learns a bit about the missing Dunmer sister. When she discovers something about her second in command's past, she goes to comfort both of her fellow Nightingales.**

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><p><strong><em><span>Shadowmark<span>_**

The sun rose in the distance, enveloping the snowy province of Skyrim in light as the inhabitants rose to greet the 3rd of Sun's Height. Turdas was a pleasant start to the day according to Lilac as she rose from slumber and dragged herself around Honeyside as she got dressed into her Nightingale Armor. The birds flew past her windows, singing to the other as the people of Riften bustled around the streets, walking into the market, stepping into the Bee and Barb or heading for the temple to pray to Mara.

The small town had been reborn since Mercer Frey's demise only a year ago; banners hung over each building and the streets were clean. The town wasn't as big as it had been 1,000 years ago during the Second Era where it was all made out of wood and the Temple of Mara and Mistveil Keep didn't exist and instead was a Mages and Fighters Guild, but it was home to more then the few people she had seen when she first arrived. More travelers or traders walked into the town, and some stayed, or some didn't, but came back with more wares and even plenty of things to steal a week later.

The Thieves Guild had thrived since Lilac had been given the honor of Guildmaster (which Brynjolf and Karliah made her take) and the underground city of thieves grew and grew until they had they're own blacksmith, alchemist and merchant. The Cistern now had banners, tables with food and ingredients, and new members. The 'curse', as Delvin had said, had lifted and now everyone was happy. Except for today.

"Iona must be out shopping." she whispered to herself as she walked out of her home and walked through the shadows, nabbing some coin purses on her way to the Cistern with a mischievous chuckle. She went behind the Temple of Mara, making sure no one saw her, and pushed the button in the shape of the shadowmark. The floor opened below her and she climbed down the stairs, pulling the chain and closing it again. She pulled the wooden board of the hidden entrance-way and climbed down.

She jumped off the ladders and walked into the Cistern. She saw Nuruin firing arrows at the archery targets and Rune hanging around the water, sitting on the edge. Thryn, Cynric Endell, Etienne, Vipir, Garthar, Molgrom Twice-Killed and the other unknown thieves were sleeping.

"Where is everyone?" she asked the two men awake.

"Ragged Flagon." Niruin said, still firing arrows, not looking up or at her.

She thanked him and left the Cistern and went to the Ragged Flagon to find the others, which was nearly empty. Vekel was slowly wiping the bar counter, but he seemed to be staring out into space. Delvin was trying to get drunk over Black-Briar Mead. Vex was sitting at her table, nibbling at a loaf of bread and Tonilia leaned against some boxes, staring at the floor. Karliah and Brynjolf were no where to be seen.

"Hey everyone! Why are you all so gloomy?" she asked, poking Delvin's cheek as she walked past. He waved her hand away, shocking Lilac. He never did that, he usually chuckled or poked her cheek back. What was with him?

"Have some respect, boss, would 'ya?" he snapped, taking another swig from his tankard, wiping his mouth sloppily.

"She doesn't know, Delvin, you can't blame her." Vekel told him. Delvin sighed and looked at the Dragonborn who looked like a kicked puppy.

"He's right. I'm sorry, lass, for snapping like that. You don't know." the look Lilac sent him made him sigh loudly, rubbing his face. Vex decided to answer;

"Today is a very sad day for us. Especially for Brynjolf and Karliah." she said.

"Why?" Lilac asked, looking at the tall Breton. Everyone remained quiet for a while, giving each other glances.

"I miss her." Delvin said and everyone turned to look at him. "Those eyes were so unique, not like any Dark Elves, especially when Karliah's are lavender. Hers...hers were...Stardust. Yes, that's a good word to describe hers-Cerulean?-No. Caribbean. Stardust and Caribbean." he continued.

_"My eyes, Delvin, are...Stardust and Caribbean!" _

_"Okay, lass, now Karliah was looking for you."_

"Her left eye was blue and her right eye was purple." Vex translated for Lilac.

_"They're just blue and purple like your sisters."_

_"Vex! They are not just any ordinary color! They are unique!" _

"No! Her's were Starlight and Caribbean! She said so! Like the Aurora Lights." Delvin corrected. "It fit with her light grey skin, and her little pointy ears. She had a temper, but she loved dancing and singing. She was the best damn thief after her sister, which made Brynjolf very jealous as he wasn't very good when he started."

_"Ha! I stole more then Brynjolf and he got caught! He's spending a night in Riften Jail! See, Delvin? I am better then him!"  
><em>

_"Go bail him out or Karliah or Gallus will come find you."_

_"Fine." _

"She made friends where ever she went. She could charm anyone and she would always come back with pockets full of coins and jewelry. She even stole from Mercer for the fun of it, but Gallus did say she had to do it to get into the Guild, so she wasn't exactly breaking the rules." Vex added.

_"Mercer is going to kill you."_

_"No he won't! Oh god, he's coming and he looks mad! Hide me!"_

"We were even sure her and Brynjolf were courting. Sometimes he would come back from jobs to be carrying flowers, hiding them or not, and he would give me to random female thieves members if we ever questioned him about them. We would find love letters under his bed addressed to her and flowers in vases in random places around the Cistern, but Mercer probably got rid of them." Tonilia said with a hint of jealously. Lilac knew something was going between her and Brynjolf, as she heard many thieves question them, and sometimes Lilac would hear grunting, banging and Tonilia and Brynjolf's names being called out coming from the training room at night.

"We knew her before she joined the Guild, you know, being Karliah's sister and all-" Vex began but Lilac interrupted her.

"Wait, this 'her' is Karliah's sister?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes, didn't we say that?" Delvin said making everyone shake their heads. "Oh, well, yes, she is Karliah's little sister, and only sibling she has." he told her.

"Well, that explains why she isn't here." Everyone then went silent as they continued to eat, drink or stare off into the distance.

"Brynjolf was going to marry her." Vex broke the silence. All heads turned to look at her in shock. Delvin dropped his tankard and Tonilia choked on the bread piece she had in her mouth. Vekel froze and even Dirge was interested from his position guarding the way into the Ragged Flagon.

_"What?" _Delvin asked.

"Yeah, Brynjolf asked me how he should ask her and I told him to take her to the forest clearing when the Aurora Lights appear." she said. Tonilia looked sad and Delvin rubbed the back of his neck.

"Wow, just imagine that. Little Brynjolf's and Kitra's running around." he smiled at the thought.

"Her name is Kitra." Vekel told Lilac. She nodded, smiling at the name.

"Kitra means 'crowned one' and Karliah means 'covered in snow; Strong and womanly'." she whispered and they all smiled at the beautiful names.

"Dralsi, Karliah and Kitra's mother, was an ex-thief to the Guild and an Nightingale. Then she was killed by mercenaries who were trying to break into the Twilight Sepulcher." Vex said. "Karliah was 19 years old and Kitra was 17 years old when it happened, and a month later Kitra joined the Thieves Guild after being kicked out of her mother's home in Shor's Stone. The Blacksmith, Filnjar, took her in for a couple of months before the guards took her to Honorhall Orphanage. She hated the conditions there and left to find Karliah, and the only way to do that was to use the thieve skills her mother taught them both to find her. When she found her Karliah offered her a place in the Guild." she continued.

"Karliah is 46, then, yes? Kitra must be 44, then?" Lilac said and they all nodded.

"Yes. In Dark Elf terms Kitra and Karliah are both still pretty young." Vex said.

"She's right. Both of them would be in their early to late 30's in the Dark Elf way. Karliah had just reached her 21st birthday when Mercer killed Gallus so she'll be 35 in Dark Elf years because of her 25 years exile and Kitra was 19 when Gallus was murdered and adding the 25 years since she's been dead Kitra would be actually 33 in Dark Elf years." Delvin added.

"Dead?! Who killed her?" Lilac asked. Delvin looked right at her, his eyes staring right into her soul.

"Take a guess." he said and Lilac knew;

_Mercer._

"I need to find Karliah."

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><p><em>10 Minutes Later<em>

Karliah sat on the rock facing Shor's Stone below, her Nightingale hood pulled back so her auburn hair blew in the wind. Her lavender eyes scanned the small mining town as the people ran in and out of the mine, and the few guards patrolled the one street. Filnjar, the Blacksmith was working at his forge, and the only person down in that town she knew from her childhood. She smiled, remembering the good old times when he would give her and her sister a sweet roll each or an apple if their mother was around.

Living in Shor's Stone was hard. Having only your sister to play with and not really knowing any of the adults made it tough to make new friends. Her mother took her out hunting while Kitra stayed at home, sometimes being looked after by Filnjar because she was too young to use a bow and arrow. Instead, their mother gave her a dagger instead, to protect herself from bandits and mercenaries. Karliah was 6 when she began hunting, and she put her dagger aside to be given lessons on how to steal and use a bow. Kitra joined them when she was 6, but she kept her dagger with her at all times, and Karliah could see why.

The dagger was fully black, which blended in with the night, and on the hilt was an 'odd symbol' as the two sisters had said to each other years ago. Now, the Nightingale Dagger was a rare find. Karliah was supposed to have it, but Kitra was born and Dralsi decided to give her oldest daughter her Nightingale Bow instead. Kitra had said that she didn't mind that Karliah was given the bow, she had her trusty dagger instead. Kitra was supposed to take over the role of Nightingale when Gallus was murdered, but she didn't even have the privilege to take the Oath before Mercer slaughtered her.

It was Karliah's fault. She shouldn't have followed Gallus and Mercer to find out what they were doing and why Gallus seemed so...frightened. Now she knew why.

If she didn't follow him, maybe she wouldn't have to run for 25 years...

If she didn't follow him, maybe she would have still had her friends; Vex, Tonilia, Delvin, Brynjolf...

If she didn't follow him, maybe her sister would be alive.

She knew Kitra would have married Brynjolf, and they would have either bought Honeyside or moved to a different town or city, or even another province. Brynjolf would have wanted an army of children, but Kitra would have settled for three, as she admitted she wasn't good with children unlike Brynjolf. He loved children, and had even planned the name of his future children and their personalities and looks. He wanted them too look like their mother, but have his 'charming' looks which made Kitra snort when she heard.

Karliah always knew Brynjolf loved his sister, from the looks, flowers, love letters and the planning of his children. Oh, how fast did all that end.

_"So, are you still wanting to have children?" she asked him. They were both near Windhelm, heading to Irkngthand to put a stop to Mercer Frey before he could take the Eyes of the Falmer and leave Skyrim. Lilac, the Dragonborn and future Guildmaster, had planned to meet them there when she's finished a job for the Jarl, but she promised she'll be there as quick as she could._

_Brynjolf remained silent for a while until he glanced at her, and that's when Karliah saw how much the past 25 years had pained her friend. _

_"No..." he whispered. "Because I want them with _**her**_."_

_Karliah's expression softened and she stopped walking, staring right at him. Brynjolf sat down on a log next to the road and put his face in his hands. Karliah thought he may just be thinking over his decision until she heard the sobbing. Those sobs made her want to cry with him, but all she could to is stand there, and watch him. She stepped closer to him and sat down next to him on the log, watching him._

_"She loved you, very much." Karliah whispered, making Brynjolf sob louder. _

_"I didn't know that. She never said." he answered through his sobbing. _

_"She was just afraid you didn't love her back." she answered._

_"I did though, and I still do. It's just...Tonilia wants more." he said, controlling his sobs to talk. Karliah knew the relationship between Brynjolf and Tonilia was struggling; Brynjolf wanted to only court her but Tonilia wanted him to propose to her so they can marry and have children. Lilac had told Karliah how many times she had heard both of them doing the 'frick frack' or 'the funky monkey' around the Cistern when they thought no one was around. But everyone knew of their relationship, even Vekel, who was courting Tonilia for a while before Brynjolf._

_"You don't know how much this is tearing me apart, Karliah. I loved her, she loved me, and Mercer took it all away. I wanted to kill myself when I saw her, laying there in that pool of blood with Mercer above her, cleaning his sword. She ran because she was scared Mercer would blame her for Gallus' death, and he found her and killed her. I heard her scream...she screamed my name. I heard her and I ran to her, and when I saw her standing there, staring at me, she looked so innocent, like a child. She tried to run away, but Mercer pierced her back and chest with his sword. It stuck out the other end, for Talos sake! She looked at me for help, but I couldn't move. I thought she was a traitor to the Guild and I didn't care she that she was murdered, but..."_

_"...But you knew she was innocent." Karliah finished for him._

_"Yes...She fell to the floor and I thought she was dead. Then I saw her fingers twitch, and she turned her head to look at me. She whispered my name and for me to help her and I saw Mercer move back over to her to finish her. I wanted to help her, but I couldn't. I was too scared and too angry at the two of you to help...but then I saw Mercer stab her again, and she went limp, and she didn't move. Mercer told me to dump the body and she went back to the Guild to tell everyone that Kitra was dead." he continued. _

_"I ran to her, and just knelt next to her. I knew she was dead...so I just...just held her...and screamed, and cried, and I was just a mess. I rocked her and held her close, wanting her to be alive. I wanted her to be alive so we can run away together and start a family...get away from Mercer and Skyrim. I wanted us to go to Cyrodiil and live in Bruma with her...stay close to Skyrim but far away from Mercer. Oh god, I should have stopped him, Karliah." he sobbed, burying his head into his hands again. _

_Karliah had never seen him like this; the strong, red haired Nord who hardly showed any emotion for 25 years except for anger at Karliah and Kitra was showing emotion over the death of her sister and his former lover. _

_"I loved her...and I don't think I could love anyone like that again. So, no, I don't want children anymore, because I want them with her..."_

"Karliah?"

The Dunmer turned her head, nearly jumping in fright at the appearance of her fellow Nightingale. She had been so lost in thought she did not hear the footsteps of Lilac behind her. What thief and Nightingale she was.

"I know everything." Lilac said. Karliah took a deep breath through her nose before she relaxed at the news.

"I know, or you wouldn't have found me." she answered, and she saw the Dragonborn smile. She sat down next to Karliah and then did something which startled the both of them, she hugged her. Lilac had pulled her into a hug, and began rubbing her back in comfort.

"I won't tell if you cried. You have a reputation to hold." she said and Karliah let out a sob as she felt all of her emotions bubble up to the surface. She held her chest with both hands as she sobbed into Lilac's chest as the devastation and sadness of the last 25 years poured out of her and into the wind.

She cried for what felt like hours before her sobs died down and she pulled away from Lilac, her indigo eyes still filled with tears.

"I want my sister..." she whispered, but she knew she couldn't come back.

"I know."

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><p>Lilac walked into the forest clearing, staring up at the night sky showing the Aurora Lights dancing across the sky. On the 3rd of Sun's Height, every year, the Aurora Lights would be purple and blue.<p>

Stardust and Caribbean.

It was a coincidence too that today was Kitra's birthday, and the day of her death. Kitra had been killed on her 19th birthday, the proper age to marry, and the day Brynjolf was going to propose to the Dunmer woman under the lights in the forest clearing. And here he was, sitting on his knees, staring up into the night sky and the dancing colors covering the glowing stars and the moon Secunda which orbited the biggest second moon Masser.

"It's a beautiful night tonight." Lilac said, startling the thief. He rubbed his eyes to clear away any evidence of tears and Lilac nearly crumbled into tears herself. She had never seen him like this before, she doubted anyone had.

"Yes, it is, Lass." he said. She stepped closer to him until she was standing behind him, looking down at that red mane that was on his head.

"I think the night is always beautiful on this day. It never rains, and everyone seems to happy...except for you and Karliah and Vex and Tonilia and Delvin and-" Brynjolf put her hand up to stop her.

"Okay, Lass, I get it." he interrupted. She closed her mouth then went to sit in front of him.

"NO!" he shouted and she stopped. "Get away from that spot, Lass." he added and she did and sat next to him instead.

"She died there didn't she? The place I was going to sit down?" she asked and he nodded, tearing up again.

"I was goin' to propose right here, on this very spot in this very forest clearing, under these moons and this night sky." he told her and she nodded, making him continue. "I always pictured it, ya' know, Lass? The crickets chirping, the fireflies circling around us, and just silence as we talk under the lights. Together, just the two of us. Then I'll bring up marriage and her eyes, those unique beautiful eyes, would light up and she would talk for hours about marriage and children and I would listen to every word. Then, I'll ask her while showing her an Amulet of Mara, and she'll jump me and say yes and we'll kiss under the moonlight." he seemed happy, and a thousand light years away as he spoke.

"You were absolutely smitten with her weren't you?" Lilac asked.

"I still am, Lass." he replied and the two sat under the stars. When midnight arrived Brynjolf smiled up at the night sky.

"Goodnight, Kitra." and they remained sitting; the second-in-command and his former protege.

* * *

><p><em>Elder Root, Valenwood<em>

The Dunmer woman pulled the string of her bow back as she crouched in the tree behind the leaves as her eyes didn't leave the deer eating the grass at it's feet. The branch below her snapped off the tree and the Dark Elf nearly cursed the Nine Divines when the deer's head shot up towards the tree. Her eyes narrowed and she stared right at the deer. The animal began to run and she let go of her arrow.

It flew and hit the deer in the neck. It let out a cry of pain and dropped dead, making the woman perk up and smile. She strapped the bow to her back and jumped off the branch to the one below her, then she grabbed the branch in her hands and swung herself to the ground. She landed on her feet in a crouched position and she grunted at the force, keeping her eyes trained on the deer.

She looked around for any other competitors for the deer then she bolted forward, gripping the arrow from it's neck and yanking it out. It twitched, indicating it was still alive and she sighed. She pulled out a pitch black dagger and with a quick flick of her wrist it slashed the deer's neck and it went still, making it easier for her to throw the deer over his shoulders. She put the dagger back in her right boot, and began to make the walk back to the city.

"Hello, Kit!" the Bosmer called and waved as she walked by and she gave a small smile and a nod. She waved at the children who squealed her name and surrounded her before their parents made them hurry along.

She walked to the edge of the city and ducked under a rock with a small opening. When she was finally through she walked through the dark, dingy and tight walkway. She began to ponder about her life from the past 25 years.

She hadn't lived in Valenwood all of her life, she was born in Skyrim and lived there until she was 19, then she ran away because of being called a traitor and was nearly killed by one of the people she trusted the most. The poison she had made had stopped her heart for an hour so she could heal her body and when she woke up she was alone, so she ran. Luckily, her 'killer' didn't take her stuff she had on her.

She had ran from Skyrim and got into Morrowind before living in Blacklight then Davon's Watch for a couple of years before travelling to Cyrodiil and stepping into the Valenwood border. She went to Elder Root, a city in the middle of the province, where she had a couple of friends from Valenwood's Thieves Guild who had visited Skyrim's Thieve's Guild when she was 17. They could help her. When she told them her story they immediately took her in. They didn't believe her at first, as Mercer had sent every Thieve's Guild in all 8 provinces a letter explaining what had happened in Snow Veil Sanctum and the incident of her betrayal, but they believed her when she broke down sobbing and showed them her wounds from Mercer's sword.

She now was a thief and guest of the Valenwood Thieve's Guild until it was safe for her to go back. That was 25 years ago, and she had been living in Valenwood for 23 years. Some of the thieves had tried to court her but she declined, knowing if she married and conceived children she couldn't go back to Skyrim and to her beloved.

She sighed and walked into the Valenwood Cistern. It was huge, bigger then the Skyrim Cistern and in the middle was a huge tree which spiralled up and down. At the top of the tree was the kitchens, the training rooms and the chambers for the thieves. It was beautiful, with fireflies lightening up the top of the tree as light for the thieves and they surrounded the tree to bring a certain life to their home. The huge roots grew out to the sides of the room which let the thieves sit on them and talk, eat or read which she did quite a lot.

All of the thieves ran over and helped her put the deer in the kitchen, which made their cook, Selma, smile.

"This will keep us all full for the next month." and the two smiled at each other.

Everyone was downstairs in the inn, celebrating and laughing and she disappeared.

At the very, very top of the tree was an opening to the world above. A root of the tree spiraled up from the main room to the top where a wooden platform made by the tree itself laid, and the branches made a fence around the platform where she usually laid down and stared up at the night sky. Valenwood didn't have the Aurora lights she grew to love back in Skyrim, but the two provinces had the same moons and stars.

She laid there, arms behind her head and her boot covered ankles crossed as she stared up at the night sky. Her hair sprawled out underneath her as she stared up at the two moons; Masser and Secunda. She closed her two different colored eyes and took a deep breath, feeling some fireflies had found a way up and now was hovering around the platform.

"Happy birthday to me..." she whispered, and she opened her eyes to stare up at the night sky again. "Goodnight, Brynjolf." and she stared up for the remainder of the night.

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><p><em>Teaser Quote for Chapter 2: '...I ran, but I never came back...'<em>


	2. Thief

**I hoped you all liked the last chapter. Took me the whole weekend. (My fingers were killing me).**

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><p><span><strong>Shadowmark<strong>

The Dunmer smirked as she ducked into the shadows of the tree as a couple of furious guards chased after her. It was another successful steal; all she had to do was sneak into one of the home's of the wealthy Bosmer, steal jewelry out of the box of the wife's property, and sneak as fast and as light as you can out of there. Sadly, the baby had awoken and began to cry when she pried open the box and she had to throw everything into her bag, put the box down and climb out of the balcony windows. She had jumped down onto the ground just as the owners ran in and now here she was, running for her life from a bunch of rookie guards.

It had been a month since her birthday, and she still, everyday, hoped for a letter from Enthir, the only one who knew of her survival in Skyrim. He had found her outside of the Frozen Hearth, holding her bloody chest as she shivered in the cold, staring up at the Bosmer for help. He had immediately came to her aid, and she was able to survive, but barely, through the pain and the medication given to her while she was unconscious for 3 weeks. Two jagged scars on her back were both concealed by her armor, and so was the scar on her chest which connected to one of the scars on her back. They were light grey scars, and were soft to touch, but she never really looked at them properly since she inspected them back in Skyrim.

Enthir had helped her regain her strength when she had woke up and helped smuggle her into Morrowind. He had bought her a small house in Blacklight and made her keep in touch of him, until she sold it 2 years later to go to Valenwood when she feared Mercer knew she was alive. She had told Enthir where she was going and left, and he hadn't contacted her since.

He had told her everything Karliah had told him. Luckily her sister had escaped the Guild's wrath for the murder of their Guildmaster, and she made him promise not to tell anyone she was alive, even Karliah and Brynjolf.

Enthir had told her in letters about how her family and friends were. Karliah had told him that she was trying to stay in the wild and far away from Riften, and Enthir had promised her that he would warn her if one of the thieve's would be heading her way. Vex had a burning passion which built over the years directed to the two Indoril sisters, but Enthir didn't give her anymore information about the platinum blonde haired Imperial.

Delvin knew that she was somehow alive, and spent every waking minute searching for her, even though the other guild members tried to convince him that she was dead. He didn't believe it, until Brynjolf had snapped. He had screamed at him that she wasn't alive, she was dead, and she was never coming back as tears streamed down his face. Delvin stopped searching for her, but every time he heard the Ragged Flagon door open he would look up hopefully, and that hope slowly vanished after a year, and he began drinking to hide his sorrow.

Tonilia had became Brynjolf's life line, she was always there to comfort him even though she was courting Vekel, but he didn't seem to mind that she was always running to him when he snapped into tears or rage. One time she couldn't calm him down, and that was when he found out about her betrayal after she ran. He teared up her part of the Cistern, ripping her pillow and smashing everything she owned until they were able to coax him out of the city to finish his rage filled hate towards her in the forest, and that's when he found her.

Brynjolf had then resorted to stitch up her pillow he destroyed and her blanket which her mother had made for her when she was child and he slept with it every night, breathing in the smell of her. It was the only way he could get to sleep. That's why no one saw him go to bed, even after 25 years, when everything was perfect and he waited until everyone was asleep to get into bed, pull out the pillow and blanket and sleep with them tight to his chest. The smell of lavenders stayed on her pillow and blanket for a couple of months after her 'death' then it began to slowly disappear. Brynjolf had freaked and made Tonilia make it smell like her again. She finally did, and whenever Brynjolf came to her with them, she knew what to do.

Enthir had wrote in that letter that he would get them somehow and give them to her when he next wrote but she told him that let Brynjolf keep them, hopefully she would see them and him again. The Bosmer had forced her to promise to come to him the first time she stepped into Skyrim again, and she would keep that promise, even if it killed her.

She sneaked into the Cistern after the guards were gone and gave their 'Vex', Analia, the stolen jewelry before she sat on a branch of the tree, staring down at the courier who ran into the Cistern minutes after she arrived. This courier was the Tamriel's Thieves' Guild courier, and the one they called whenever they had a letter to send, but this time it was a different man; an Nord, who looked to be in his teen years, while the original one was an adult Imperial. Normally if the courier before them was murdered or died another one who didn't make it into the guild replaced them. This must have been the case.

"Where have you been, boy? What happened to the other one?" their Guildmaster, Aengoth, snapped to the courier. His eyes widened in fear and the Dunmer pitied the man.

"H-He was murdered sir, a year ago crossing the Morrowind border to deliver this letter. He was kidnapped and tortured. I replaced him." he said breathlessly.

"Then who is the letter for, boy? Spit it out!" Aengoth asked with a hint of anger in his voice. Obviously he blamed the Imperial who got killed. He was like that; he had a temper, and snapped, glared and even hit his charges, and people were too scared to stand up to him. His anger only increased when she denied his request to court her.

"I-I have a letter for Kitra Indoril?" he asked, looking around at the other thieves.

"I'm here." the Dark Elf replied. She jumped down from the branch and landed in front of him, startling the poor lad. Some of the thieves chuckled and with a death glare from Aengoth did they go quiet. Kitra took the letter out of the shaking hands of the courier and looked at the College of Winterhold wax seal. She recognized it immediately and she teared it open quickly, beginning to read;

_'Kitra, _

_ It has been nearly 23 years since I have contacted and seen you. The Thieve's Guild has gone down hill. Since your 'death' and Karliah's exile, the people of Skyrim have came to think the Guild is a joke. Mercer is now running it, and now...and now everything is...terrible. Mercer had told me that Vex had gotten angrier since you and your sister's 'betrayal', she stays up all night and polishes her dagger ready to use it against your sister. Delvin drank more, and stumbled around the Ragged Flagon and Cistern babbling drunkenly about a curse on the Guild. Vekel didn't talk for months, he just cleaned the bar and hardly addressed anyone. And Brynjolf?..._

_Brynjolf...is empty and hallow inside. He still hasn't gotten over your death. No one has. _

_I'm writing to you today, Kitra, for the first time in 25 years, to tell you...Mercer is dead._

_The Dragonborn (you may have heard about her) joined the Thieves' Guild and found out about Mercer's true self, found Karliah, and restored the Nightingales and the Guild. Her name is Lilac, and she is now the new Guildmaster, a position Brynjolf and Karliah thrust upon her without her knowledge (even though she had only joined a month before). Karliah is now back into the Thieve's Guild, Brynjolf and Lilac are now Nightingales and everyone is...for the first time in 25 years...happy, but only you can make the family feel complete and whole again. _

_You can come home._

_Enthir.'_

Kitra collapsed onto her knees, holding the letter tight to her chest, her eyes wide with shock and happiness as she breathed heavily, her mouth open in a small 'o'. Her Guildmaster and fellow thieves watched her with giant smiles on their faces, happy for their Dunmer friend, Aengoth wasn't smiling, but his eyes flashed with excitement for her to finally leave.

"I'm going home. To Skyrim." they all nodded, understanding her need for her homeland and she smiled happily when Aengoth agreed.

She got up and ran to the tree and quickly climbed to her chambers, she skidded into her room and slapped the wooden door shut before looking at every piece of furniture she owned, all made out of the wood from the tree, even the walls and floor. She ran to her bed, pulled out her knapsack and quickly unbuckled the opening, throwing it open before throwing her wardrobe open and pushing every piece of clothing she had into her bag. She was in a hurry, running around the room as fast as lightning as she ran to the kitchen with a smaller bag in her hands. She startled Selma as she grabbed bread, cheese, apples, venison, wine, mead, and water skins and shoved them inside before running across the tree again to her room.

She put them gently on her bed before grabbing her hand made bow and arrows before them strapping them to her back. She still had on her Skyrim Thieve's Guild armor, which had loads of repairs made to it because she either ripped it or got it misplaced. It was lighter then the original armor the Skyrim Guild had because of how old it was, but it looked more or less the same.

Kitra pulled out her Nightingale Dagger and raised it up to catch the light, the light reflected from it which made it sparkle. She smiled and kissed it lightly before putting it in her right boot and grabbing the big bag of gold and putting it in her small bag attached to her hip before throwing her hood and cloak over herself. She threw her knapsack over her shoulders and climbing out of the tree and towards the entrance. She turned to look back at her home for the past 23 years and she smiled at the Valenwood thieves, who all waved and shouted their goodbyes, even Selma.

She was going home to her family; Vex, Enthir, Vekel, Tonilia, Delvin, Karliah and Brynjolf. She knew that sooner of later the other thieves and this 'Lilac' woman would become her family too, but only one could hope.

Kitra gave them a wave goodbye and left the Cistern, the city, and Valenwood to Skyrim and to her lover.

* * *

><p><em>A week later; Frozen Hearth, Winterhold, Skyrim<em>

"There's something up there, Enthir, and I want it out before they attack my family." Dagur informed the sorcerer as he unlocked the door to the attic room and let the Bosmer inside. The dingy room only had one lantern, and that only lit up the middle of the room. The snow from outside got through the cracks in the window on the top of the wall, making speckles of snow cover the floor below. Dust hovered softly around the room, making Enthir cough slightly.

"This room hasn't be used in a while, I assume?" he asked, his mouth in a line of disgust as his forehead crinkled.

"No." Dagur said sheepishly before quickly leaving. Enthir sighed at the destruction of the nearly empty room and he began to look around, the light of the lantern making it hard for him to see anything.

The attic room of the Frozen Hearth wasn't visible from the ground room of the inn. It was tucked under the largest room and was only accessible with step ladders as the stairs had caved in because of the small earthquake the Great Collapse caused and the remains thrown out years before. Back then, it was the only inn in Skyrim to have an attic room in use, until Dagur and his wife, Haran, had to close the room down because of an incident with their daughter, Eirid. Now, all of their rooms were free but the visitors to the fallen city still had to pay for food and drinks.

Enthir did not see anything which could cause so much noise to startle the owners of the inn, until he saw the shadow on the wall, making the shape of a person. He backed up and looked up to the rafters, and his red eyes widened in alarm at the sight of the Dunmer sitting on the rafters, leaning on one of her arms, her other arm wrapped around her stomach as her leg swung over the bar lazily as her other leg was crossed under her other leg. She looked down at the Bosmer, blinking innocently.

"It took you a while." Enthir said after getting over his shock. She laughed and tiled her head to the side, winking with her indigo eye.

"Well, people die every day, sadly the courier who had the letter was kidnapped, tortured and killed walking over the Morrowind border." she replied like it happened regularly for her.

"Oh. Well, my prayers go with him and his family." he said. She smiled and jumped down, a grunt sounding from her lips as her feet hit the floor, carrying her body weight and making her bend down onto her knees before standing up, brushing off invisible dirt of her Guild trousers. She pulled her cloak tighter around her body, her hood hiding the remainder of her face except for her eyes, which seemed to glow in the dark.

"I didn't come back to mourn over someone I didn't know. I came back because I can finally do so." she said, breaking the silence.

"It took you how long to get here? 3 days?" he asked. She smiled, her eyes twinkling humorously.

"Three days would take me to get from here to Riften. I arrived after five days, and took two extra days to get your attention." she answered. "and it worked." the corners of her lips twitched as she controlled her smile which made the Bosmer smile himself.

"At least you got here." he said.

"Yes. I'm alive and well, unlike Mercer." her last words had bitter and vengeance laced into them. Enthir didn't blame her; being stabbed twice and nearly dying while the love of your life watched in shock would make anyone want to kill the one who ruined their happiness, and it didn't help that she had to keep her survival hidden from her family for the past 25 years.

"You can live in peace now, Kitra. Now that he is dead." he said, but it didn't calm the fuel rage in the Dark Elf.

"No! It doesn't mean I can live in peace now that's dead! I can't go back! Do you understand, Enthir?! If I walk in there and say 'Not dead' I'm going to have my whole family hate me for the rest of their lives!" she snapped, her eyes burning with hatred. "I ran...and never came back..." she whispered.

"That's why we won't just drop you of there and hope they won't react that bad." he said. The look was gone from her eyes and she looked confused at the Bosmer; with her crooked eyebrow and the look in her eyes it looked almost comical.

"How?" she asked, and he smirked.

"I know someone who has the curiosity of a cat." he smirked. "and we have something else to worry about that she can help with." he said and her eyes darkened again.

"I have still been protecting Ebonmere, Enthir. Nocturnal gave me position to enter both realms from Valenwood. but...it's having problems. Ebonmere has been cut off by me, and I can only get through on the day of the full moon, which is next week." she answered.

"That's strange, she hasn't told Karliah, Brynjolf and the Guildmaster because Karliah voiced her concern to me weeks ago. Now that Nocturnal has the Shadow Key back she should be able to tell them." he said, and she gave a nod.

"Don't be too shocked." she smirked and glanced towards the window. "I know how to help Nocturnal and her realm, just leave that to me," she smiled and Enthir nodded.

"The Nightingale Guardians." he said with a hum.

"Yes, Tomas is still in Skyrim, alive, thankfully, and Aengoth is back in Valenwood. I can get Tomas to help but getting Aengoth to come to Skyrim will be hard, he's gotten angrier through the past years." she said.

"Do you know why?" he asked.

"No." she answered, too quickly for his taste, which made him raise an eyebrow in confusion. He knew she was lying, but pushing Kitra to spill the truth was like trying to befriend a giant. Impossible.

"Where is Tomas now?" he asked, changing the subject as quickly as she did.

"In Ebonmere Hallows." she answered. "deep in the Pine Forest." she added. "I will go and get him, and bring him here to discuss how we are going to do this." he nodded in agreement.

"Yes, good idea." he rubbed his chin in thought.

"but, how are we going to get this woman to help us?" she asked.

He smirked. "Now, YOU leave that to me."

* * *

><p><em>Teaser Quote for Chapter 3: 'I loved him...just not in the same way Kitra loved Brynjolf...'<em>

**MODS! A mod is in the words about this story. It's really hard to make, and will be out in a couple of months for you all to play. The mod will be called Shadowmark, like the story, and will stick to this story but in your perspective. So no scenes last chapter and this chapter will appear. Sorry, but it the rest will be in the mod. I hope you all will enjoy it when I release it. :)**


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